NBC Sports Group gears up for its second week of live 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and XFINITY Series racing with more than 16 hours of trackside coverage from Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky. NBCSN's race coverage begins Friday at 8 p.m. ET, with XFINITY Series racing from Kentucky Speedway, and culminates Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing.

Following Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s trip to victory lane this past weekend, his second win of the 2017 season, ten drivers have punched their ticket to the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth currently hold the final six spots in the playoff standings, while Joey Logano is just three points below the playoff cut line. This weekend's race in Kentucky marks the first of nine races left before the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs begin.

NBC Sports Group kicks off its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series coverage from Kentucky Speedway this Friday at 10 a.m. ET, with first practice, available on NBCsports.com and the NBC Sports app. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice begins at 1 p.m. ET on NBCSN. A special 30-minute addition of NASCAR AMERICA begins at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, before Monster Energy Series qualifying at 6 p.m. ET.

Saturday's race day coverage begins with an encore presentation of qualifying at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, and feeds directly into a live edition of NASCAR AMERICA at 6 p.m. ET. NBC Sports Group's pre-race show, Countdown to Green, kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Racing presented by Toyota beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. NBCSN wraps up coverage at 11:30 p.m. ET, with Victory Lap, NBCSN's post-race show, originating from Stamford, Conn.

NBC Sports Group's coverage from Kentucky Speedway begins tomorrow, Thursday July 6, with a trifecta of XFINITY Series practice at 2 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. ET and 6 p.m. ET. The first two practices, at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET, will be available on NBCsports.com and the NBC Sports app. Coverage shifts over to NBCSN at 6 p.m. ET with NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice.

XFINITY Series qualifying begins Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Pre-race Countdown to Green coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. ET, and includes a special look at Cole Custer's, driver of Stewart-Haas Racing's No. 00, relationship with team co-owner Tony Stewart. Race coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET, and will be followed at 10:30 p.m. ET by a 30-minute post-race show on-site from Kentucky Speedway.

The five drivers, from past and present, will discuss Stenhouse Jr.'s impressive win this past Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, the trials and tribulations which helped guide Stenhouse to victory lane twice in 2017, and what tracks Stenhouse is most looking forward to as he competes in his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

As part of NBCSN's comprehensive coverage of the 2017 NASCAR season, NBCSN's daily motorsports show, NASCAR America, will present a live show each week from the NASCAR Hall of Fame, in Charlotte, N.C. Each live episode from the Hall of Fame will include an in-depth interview with an active driver, and highlight their journey to professional racing.

NASCAR Senior VP and Chief Racing Development Officer, Steve O'Donnell joins NBCSports.com's lead motorsports writer Nate Ryan (@NateRyan) on this week's NASCAR on NBC podcast, to discuss what's in store for NASCAR's next technology-based model. O'Donnell also dives into his upbringing in Egypt, how NASCAR can grow internationally, as well as possible changes to the new stage based racing format and the overtime line. The NASCAR on NBC podcast is available on NASCAR Talk, Apple Podcasts, AudioBoom, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher and podcasting apps. For more info click here.

In 2017, NBC Sports Group will present the final 20 NASCAR Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races, final 19 NASCAR XFINITY Series events and select NASCAR Regional & Touring Series events.

NBC Sports Group's NASCAR programming also includes NBCSN's daily motorsports show NASCAR America, coverage of NASCAR's Awards Ceremonies, the annual NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony, as well as original programming specials. NBC Sports Group concluded the 2016 NASCAR season presenting more hours of trackside coverage and programming than ever before.

In 2016, NBC Sports Group continued to innovate and entertain race fans with 630 hours of NASCAR programming, including interactive watch parties, documentary specials and new shoulder programming, in addition to its 366 live trackside hours from 22 different states. In 2016, overall consumption of NASCAR content on NBC Sports' Digital properties was up 50% vs. 2015, and NASCAR on NBC's social platforms generated a triple-digit increase in video views, as well as double-digit increase in fan base and impressions compared to the 2015 season.